Yesterday was my second time volunteering at Charlotte Woods Elementary. Each time I go there, I am increasingly humbled. For example, something I would take for granted, the kids are so happy to receive... When I walked in yesterday, Mrs. Cliri was sitting on her chair with the children in a half-circle around her. She had news that she got them a new pencil sharpener (the other one broke) and they were so excited! I couldn't believe it.
As far as the classroom is concerned, it is very colorful! Whether it's the rugs or the whiteboard or the folders, everything is a different color. The children have the option of going outside at lunchtime (11:30 am... I leave then) and that's when my heart sank a little. From what I've seen so far, there was no hint of a jungle gym or swings or anything. I could be wrong.What are children supposed to do at recess/lunch outside? They make most of what they have. In Scituate, kids I know would cry if they couldn't get this or that but the students at Charlotte Woods Elementary seem very easy to please. The children are all Hispanic or African American. Mrs. Cliri is Portuguese and bilingual. I feel a little out of the my element there. I'm glad I'm at this school because it's a big eye-opener and I learn a lot observing Mrs. Cliri. She found that instead of yelling at misbehaved students, she ignores misbehavior unless it's really bad (which I haven't seen yet) and uses a lot of positive reinforcement. The students respond well - they always seem eager to behave well.
I found that this time was a little more difficult than last though. Because I am a little more familiar with the kids, classroom, etc., I believe Mrs. Cliri wanted to give me a little more responsibility. She read them a book called Pigs (Robert Munch) & told the class to write and draw what they think would happen. She had me work one-on-one with some of the kids, those who were at the beginning level of English. I don't speak Spanish and the kids I was working with do not speak English very well so it was hard to help them. It's hard to get them to write something when they don't know what letters I am referring to. Using pictures only helped so much. I have to try something different - a little more effective... but what?! I met Ms. Winnie for the first time and she spoke with me about what a "Reading Buddy" is. It's not so much that I read with the children or to them - it's more that I help them build their english skills. I worked with 3 entry-level students (boys). The workshop we did consisted of flashcards and bingo. I would hold up a flashcard, which were color coordinated in order to show how each was increasingly difficult, and the kids would say what the word was. If a word was too hard for the student, Ms. Winnie & Mrs. Cliri said to just tell them what it is. For beginning students, I was surprised and delighted that they kept up so quick and still knew the meaning to each word.. Some people I know that actually know English still get confused on "there", "their" and "they're" or "to", "two" and "too". The students I worked with needed no help with knowing which one was correct.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
First Day (Prompt 1)
I was assigned to be a volunteer student teacher at SGT Cornell Young/Charlotte Woods Elementary school in Providence. My first day was yesterday. I am a reading buddy for second graders in an ESL class (English as a Second Language). I attended school in Scituate which is a bit more country and the minorty rate is less than 5%. It was a huge difference to walk into Charlotte Woods, where some letters on the building were missing, there was essentially one jungle gym and two teenagers were literally getting arrested the next street over. To be honest, a bit of nervousness overcame me partially because I felt out of my element, part because my heart sank for the young boys and girls but also that I wanted to do a great job as a volunteer student.
Walking into Mrs. Clieri's class, however, eased my nerves. She is an energetic, unbelievably nice teacher who made me feel very welcome. The kids were exceptionally welcoming as well. They were very eager to know my name, how to spell it, where I was from, what I wanted to teach, etc. So after a mini-briefing about myself, I observed Mrs. Clieri's return to homework the review. The children's homework was to experiment about what happens when you throw a parachute up in the air and then write what they saw. They were all sitting down in a little circle, if you will, looking up at their teacher, giving her their full attention which I was quite impressed with. The girls, as I expected, were right up front.
Mrs. Clieri is a bilingual teacher who is full of energy, articulation, compassion, compliments all while staying in CONTROL of her classroom that has a significantly higher number of boys in it than girls. Mrs. Clieri continued her lesson (I sharpened the pencils for her and helped set up) about pronouncing words using "PGM". PGM (Phonics Graphing Mapping) is a tool that uses syllables and sounding out letters in order to pronounce a word. For example, one of the words was "infant". First, she sounded out each letter (i-n-f-a-n-t) then the syllables (in-fant). The children were eager to learn and wanted more and harder words to learn such as basketball and hockey. I was beyond impressed with how well they caught on and how much they wanted to do.
Following the PGM lesson were the Literary Centers. Each table (7 tables approximately with 3-4 children at each one) were assigned one activity to do. One table was associating picutures with words with syllables. For example, one was a picture of an insect that had another piece of paper with the word "insect" on it. Finally the syllables "in" and "sect" were there and the children had to match all 3 components together. The language barrier was difficult for me seeing I don't know how to speak Spanish and some children could minimally speak English but the children were teaching me and the advanced students were helping the ones with difficulty. It was just a generally awesome class and learning experience.
After my 90 minutes was up, Mrs. Clieri left me with a positive note and some confidence for next class. She told me she was impressed how I took the initiatve to help her out and get right in there with the kids. The children collectively said goodbye to me at once and all jumped out of their seats to give me a hug at once (Mrs. Clieri said it was normal but I did as instructed by our professor to give them light one-handed taps on the back). I will be attending the remainder of my 15 hours there, every Tuesday (except for their February vacation). I feel more confident about going in and will try to do better every time I go in. I told Mrs. Clieri that any feedback (negative or positive) would be helpful in learning how to teach and thanked her and the children for letting me participate that day.
Overall, I was very pleased with the day and I can't wait for class!
Walking into Mrs. Clieri's class, however, eased my nerves. She is an energetic, unbelievably nice teacher who made me feel very welcome. The kids were exceptionally welcoming as well. They were very eager to know my name, how to spell it, where I was from, what I wanted to teach, etc. So after a mini-briefing about myself, I observed Mrs. Clieri's return to homework the review. The children's homework was to experiment about what happens when you throw a parachute up in the air and then write what they saw. They were all sitting down in a little circle, if you will, looking up at their teacher, giving her their full attention which I was quite impressed with. The girls, as I expected, were right up front.
Mrs. Clieri is a bilingual teacher who is full of energy, articulation, compassion, compliments all while staying in CONTROL of her classroom that has a significantly higher number of boys in it than girls. Mrs. Clieri continued her lesson (I sharpened the pencils for her and helped set up) about pronouncing words using "PGM". PGM (Phonics Graphing Mapping) is a tool that uses syllables and sounding out letters in order to pronounce a word. For example, one of the words was "infant". First, she sounded out each letter (i-n-f-a-n-t) then the syllables (in-fant). The children were eager to learn and wanted more and harder words to learn such as basketball and hockey. I was beyond impressed with how well they caught on and how much they wanted to do.
Following the PGM lesson were the Literary Centers. Each table (7 tables approximately with 3-4 children at each one) were assigned one activity to do. One table was associating picutures with words with syllables. For example, one was a picture of an insect that had another piece of paper with the word "insect" on it. Finally the syllables "in" and "sect" were there and the children had to match all 3 components together. The language barrier was difficult for me seeing I don't know how to speak Spanish and some children could minimally speak English but the children were teaching me and the advanced students were helping the ones with difficulty. It was just a generally awesome class and learning experience.
After my 90 minutes was up, Mrs. Clieri left me with a positive note and some confidence for next class. She told me she was impressed how I took the initiatve to help her out and get right in there with the kids. The children collectively said goodbye to me at once and all jumped out of their seats to give me a hug at once (Mrs. Clieri said it was normal but I did as instructed by our professor to give them light one-handed taps on the back). I will be attending the remainder of my 15 hours there, every Tuesday (except for their February vacation). I feel more confident about going in and will try to do better every time I go in. I told Mrs. Clieri that any feedback (negative or positive) would be helpful in learning how to teach and thanked her and the children for letting me participate that day.
Overall, I was very pleased with the day and I can't wait for class!
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Mini Biography
My name is Margeux Bourque. I don't typically blog, however this is for a course I am taking in order to become a teacher. I am French (I am sure you could tell from my name), Irish and Mexican. I was born in Texas but grew up in Rhode Island for as long as I can remember with a wonderful family & close-knit friends...and of course, my dog. :) I was raised in Scituate by my grandmother. I am a child of divorce and though I consider my Memere my own mother, I maintain a strong healthy relationship with my dad (her son). I have one significantly older sister who is my best friend but recently moved to Miami. She is bilingual (she speaks Spanish) which is a something I am admittedly jealous of because it's an amazing quality to have. I was born in late February, thus making me a Pisces. I tend to think of myself as an open-minded laid-back and quiet. A go-with-the-flow type of person, if you will. English is my passion, it always has been which has led me to wanting to become a Secondary Education major. My goal is to teach English (preferably literature) to young adults, get married and live a happy, long successful life. I read for pleasure (some favorites include V.C. Andrews, James Patterson, Edgar Allan Poe, James Joyce and Shakespeare). I also enjoy sports... In high school I used to play soccer, softball and cheerlead but now, I am more of a spectator. I also love watching football (New England Patriots of course). My taste for music varies - I listen to anything from the Rolling Stones to Eric Clapton to DJ Tiesto to Bullet for my Valentine. I am not a big believer in luck - I am a believer in working hard for what you achieve... In a nutshell, I work hard and play hard. I love my life and the people in it. :)
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